Care of a Friend
by KrasnayaSquare
Summary: TP universe. When Midna selfishly forces Link to go out alone, she may have placed him in more danger than she could have imagined.
1. Prologue

Hi minna-san! Wow! I haven't posted a story in forever and ever! I just got in the mood to write this one day. I noticed that there weren't a ton of stories dealing with Twilight Princess, so I decided to make one! Yay me! Anyway, this prologue is rather short, so I'll be posting the first chapter along with it. I hope that I'll be able to update regularly, but with my schedule for the next couple of weeks it may be hard. This won't be a terribly long story, but it should last at least 3 or 4 chapters. Well, enough of me blabbing, enjoy the story!

Pairings: none really, MidnaLink if you really look at it hard, but mostly a friendship deal.

Care of a Friend

It was a beautiful day in Hyrule, the sun shining, the world at peace. Not. In reality, it was a horrendous day. The rain fell in sheets and the wind howled angrily. Link bent his wolf head against the onslaught and walked on resolutely. Midna sat on his back as usual, also leaning down to protect herself from the wind's stinging force.

"Can't you move any faster?" The imp complained, slapping the soaked fur of her animal companion roughly. An irritated snort was all the answer she received as Link continued along his miserable path. Finally, Midna had had all she could bear.

"Head for that cave." she said, pointing one tiny finger at the aforementioned place.

Link was only too happy to comply, starting for the small alcove at a perceptably faster pace. Once inside, Link shook his matted fur vigorously, spraying Midna and managing to wet most of the area around him.

"Oh! You stupid wolf!" Midna yelped harshly, wringing out her rewetted hair. Link chose to ignore her, opting instead to make for a dry corner of the cave to sleep.

"What do you think you're doing?" The imp asked, tapping her miniscule foot on the hard floor. Link paused long enough to direct a questioning gaze at her. "You have to go find us something to eat!" Link directed another gaze at her, this one clearly asking if she were crazy.

"I'm serious! Go on!" Midna reprimanded as she roughly kicked the wolf's side when he chose to ignore her and lay down. The sacred beast glared at her, a low growl starting to form in his throat.

"Don't look at me like that! Without me you'd still be locked up in that cell! And you promised to do whatever I said remember? So hop to it!" She continued, delivering another kick to her exhausted compainion.

Too tired to argue it further, Link lumbered to his feet and took a deep breath before trudging back out into the viscious storm. He gasped as the cold water harshly stung his face and body, then shook his head and continued out to complete his latest mission.

Midna, meanwhile, sat limply against the stone wall of the cave, mourning the fact that the wood was all too wet to build a fire with. So instead, she sat there, awaiting the return of her partner.

_I hope he doesn't get into any trouble..._ she thought worriedly, then, calming herself, _No, I'm sure he'll be fine. I mean, after all he is the hero chosen by the gods_

How could she have known how wrong she would be?

Review! You know you want to!

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	2. Chapter One: Trouble

A/N: I don't really know if Midna eats or not, but for the purposes of this story, she does. Everyone please enjoy the first chapter of _Care of a Friend_.

Trouble

Link stumbled on blindly. How did she expect him to see anything, much less catch anything for them to eat? He shook his head once more to clear his eyes of the cold water that poured down seemingly without end from the heavens. He then set himself to the task. The sooner he caught something the sooner he could go back right? If he could even find his way back that is.

He began to try and sniff something out, but all he could smell was water and grass. Then, in an instant, another scent joined the other two. His head jerked up abruptly. He knew that scent. That was the scent of a shadow being. He knew he couldn't handle more than two shadow beings by himself. But if he could smell them over this torrential downpour...they must be close. His fears were confirmed when he caught sight of four shadow beings not ten feet to his right.

He began to back up slowly, hoping against hope that they hadn't seen him yet. Alas, that was not to be. The four creatures had already seen him and were moving as one towards their intended target. Link backed up, growling menacingly at the massive creatures, but they seemed unfazed and continued forward without pause. Link briefly considered running, but before his thought could be completed, he was hurled backwards by a massive swipe that had connected with his chest. He stood up shakily and began to ready himself to battle the creatures.

He would have no help this time.

Back in the cave, Midna began to worry again. Why hadn't he returned? It had been well over an hour. She stood slowly as the uneasy feeling in her heart began to grow. Maybe she should go and check on him. The rain was letting up a bit, so maybe she could find wherever he had gone. Surely he had just found another cave to wait out the storm and disobey her command. _Yeah, that must be it_. She thought, trying to squash her growing concern. _How dare he? __I'm gonna kill him when I find him._

Link drug himself upright once more, having been bowled over by another viscious lash to his midsection. He had managed to take out two of the beasts, but he was quickly losing ground to the remaining creatures. He lunged at one of the beasts, biting it with as much vigor as he could muster. The creature howled in pain, flinging the exhausted wolf off of him with a flick of its monstrous arm. Link landed roughly on the ground and tried desperately to come up with the energy to get up one more time. He was losing blood quickly from the gash on his side as well as several other wounds of varying degrees of severity. He was also fairly certain that at least two ribs on his right side were either broken or badly bruised.

With the last ounce of his strength, he pulled himself to his feet and faced his two assailants. He knew that he would not survive if this kept up, so he made a split second decision, tilted his head back, and howled. He howled as loudly and as long as he could, praying that Midna would hear him and come to help. He hoped it wouldn't be too late.

A/N: Sorry for another short chapter, but maybe combined with the prologue it's okay? As always, review and you get a plushie!


	3. Chapter Two: Plan? What Plan?

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!! I really do appreciate it. Well, as promised, I will continue the story, so here it is.

Forgot a disclaimer last time so here it is: I don't own anything related to Twilight Princess except the game that I played.

Midna's heart skipped a beat as she heard Link's desperate cry.

_Oh no_

She began a headlong rush into the rain, straining her senses to the max in an attempt to find the source of the sound. She swiveled her impish head this way and that, finally deciding to head left out of the cave, following the direction she thought the cry had come from. She didn't have to go far before she was rewarded with a clear indentation of a paw print on a slightly less drenched area of the ground. Link had obviously been trying to stay out of the rain. Another wave of guilt hit her at this thought. How could she make him do that? It didn't matter if he was an animal at the moment, he still deserved to be treated with dignity.

_Well, at least I'm heading the right way..._

Continuing onwards, she soon came across something that made her breath catch in her throat. The air reeked of shadow beings and it was clear that a violent confrontation had taken place. Two shadow beings lay dead on the ground and large patches of grass had been uprooted by rough claws, searching for purchase on the slippery ground. But what really struck fear into the Twili's heart was the massive amount of blood on the ground.

And she knew all too well to whom it belonged.

Her lip curled in anger and distaste, revealing one glistening fang. How dare they? She hated to admit it. She _really_ hated to admit it, but she knew she couldn't save her realm without the hero's help. These creatures had placed her friend and her kingdom in danger and she couldn't forgive that.

"Tch. Stupid wolf is always getting himself in trouble." She said as she hurriedly started off in the direction of the blood trail. She tried to convince herself that she only cared about Link for what he could do for her kingdom, but it was hard. He had been so selfless, doing anything and everything she had asked. Why did she have to treat him so poorly?

_Well, I'll just have to make it up to him when I find him...if I find him_

But she squashed the last thought down. She would find him. She had to.

Midna followed the trail quickly now that the rain was slacking off. She could smell the shadow beings stronger now, so she slowed down a bit and started carefully observing the area around her. It looked as though something had been drug through the area.

_Shit. They're trying to take him back to Zant!_

The Twili increased her pace again, searching the region for the beasts and their cargo.

_There!_

Up ahead she spotted the two beasts dragging a wounded Link behind them. He was looking around with obvious distress. She wanted to run to him, but knew that she had no chance against the enormous creatures. She watched his head strike a rock and his body go limp as she dashed behind a nearby tree to construct a plan for his escape.

Link awoke groggily to what seemed to be a two ton weight resting squarely on the center of his back. He tried to open his eyes to assess the situation, but his eyes refused to obey. He settled for what he could feel and was startled to realize that he was being drug. This time his eyes snapped open and he looked around frantically.

Indeed, he was being drug by the back leg by one of the shadow beings. Taking stock of his injuries, Link decided that there was no way in the world that he was capable of struggling against the beasts if he wanted to stay alive. He wondered breifly where they were taking him, but at that moment, his head was smacked roughly against a rock but before his vision faded back to black, he thought he saw a blur of orange and blue dart behind a tree.

The little imp thought fast. She couldn't fight the creatures, but maybe she could outwit them. If she could distract them...maybe she could give Link enough time to escape. She paused a moment to wonder how she would escape.

_Oh well, I'll figure something out when I get there_. _I don't have time, They could warp back to Zant any time now!_

Without pausing to consider her plan furthur, Midna leapt forward to put it into action.

Well, hopefully that was a little longer than usual. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of time to write recently, what with graduation and all this week, but I should have the next chapter up soon.

As always, everyone who reviews gets a plushie!


	4. Chapter Three: Could'a been worse

Hey everyone! So sorry for the delay! Graduation was a really big to do (with 469 people in my class) and then my supervisor decided to give me a bunch of extra hours, so I haven't had much time. Please forgive me!! grovels

Disclaimer: Once again. I don't own anything. STOP TRYING TO SUE ME! I' m a cashier for goodness sake. I don't make that much money.

A/N: By the way, sorry for the formatting errors in the previous chapters. Hopefully I have it all worked out now. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Could'a been worse

By the time Midna caught up to the creatures, she was beginning to think that maybe more thought should have been put into this "plan."

_ Crap, crap, crap. Distraction...lets see..._

"Hey you!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, " yeah you! Ugly! Betcha can't catch me!"

_ Well, I get points for using a classic right?_

Her outburst had the desired effect. One of the creatures turned to her, making some interesting noises that sounded oddly like ravenous growls. She provoked it further by dancing around, hoping that the other beast would notice as well. Her plan was successful as the two beasts momentarily forgot their previous load and began chasing after the imp in a blind rage.

_ I hope Link wakes up in time to get away..._ She thought briefly

As the Twili ran, or hovered, throught the thickly wooded area around her, she tried to think of a way, any way, that would keep her from killing herself and get rid of the shadow beings. Drawing a complete blank, she kept running, fearing that if she stopped, neither her, nor Link, nor her people, stood a chance of surviving.

Meanwhile, Link slowly returned to consciousness, albeit reluctantly. He didn't understand why every portion of his body was burning as if on fire. Releasing a moan, he tried to stand. Bad idea. As soon as he put weight on his right front leg, it collapsed under his weight, sending him crashing back to earth. Maybe he would just stay here a while...

Wait.

Why was he here in the first place, and where was Midna? In an instant, the days events came rushing back. Where were the beasts who had been dragging him? He looked around lethargically, still unwilling to add anything to his already unbearable headache. Why was it so dark on the left side? Maybe it would be okay if he just stayed here. Just for a little while...

And with that, Link's eyes closed once more.

Midna could have cried with relief. As she broke through the treeline, up ahead was a rather imposing cliff. She glanced behind her. The shadow beings hadn't broken through yet. Maybe if she floated out far enough, the beasts wouldn't notice the cliff. It would be hard, though. Even with Link's energy to feed off of, she could only hover short distances. This would be the equivalent of a marathon. But she had to try.

Mustering her remaining strength, the small Twili thrust herself off of the cliffside, hovering about 10 feet away from the edge. She was there when the beasts came crashing out of the foliage, focused on their prize.

_ That's it, that's it._

She thought as the beasts came closer and closer to the edge. Her strength was draining quickly, and if this didn't work, she was dead meat. Either by falling to her death, or being ripped apart by shadow beings. She wasn't sure which one she dreaded more.

She didn't have to wait long though. Without so much as slowing down, the two creatures blundered and snarled their way right off the cliff.

_ Perfect._

She thought with satisfaction. Until she realized that she was still 10 feet away from the edge and her energy was nearly spent. In a last ditch effort, she leapt forward, barely catching the edge of the cliff-face before she could hover no longer.

_ Ok. So what now genius?_

She didn't know if she had the strength left to pull herself up. But she had to try. She couldn't leave Link alone in the condition he was in. And if he didn't survive...her people wouldn't either.

Her resolve renewed, she gathered the last scraps of endurance in her and hauled herself over the edge. She lay there, exhausted, but triumphant.

_ Maybe just a little rest. It won't hurt...just...a few...minutes..._

Soon her eyes fluttered close, despite her best efforts to the contrary, and she fell fast asleep.


	5. Chapter Four: Healing

GAAAHHH!!! I'm SOOO SORRY! I'm not worthy of your attention! grovels ridiculously I am SO incredibly sorry for the unbelievable wait! I had a lot of personal issues come up all of a sudden and this just wasn't the first thing on my mind. Again, I am so sorry! Here's the next incredibly short chapter (I figured I'd give you guys what I had, sorry!), without any further ado.

Disclaimer: Dude. If you really think I own this, you need more help than I.

Chaper Four: Healing.

Midna opened her eyes slowly, groaning at the incredible ache that had apparently taken over the vast majority of her body. She massaged one temple as she slowly stood. There was something important that she had been doing, she knew. Something very, very important...now if only she could remember what it was...or who.

_Link!_

This thought propelled the Twilli into action. She straightened and immediately regretted it. Her whole body ached, moving a bit slower, she rose and surveyed her surroundings. Where had she come from? Turning to her left, it was easy to see the path of destruction left in the wake of the two beasts.

_Hmm...at least they were good for something..._

With this thought, she started off towards where she hoped she would find Link. Brushing stray branches aside, she hoped she would find him where she left him, and in time. She didn't know his exact condition, but he sure hadn't looked good the last time she'd seen him.

Breaking through the last few branches, she stopped and took in the sight before her. She could hardly believe that the bloody lump in front of her was the same strong wolf that she had ridden almost all over Hyrule. She eased forward and, taking a deep breath, steeled herself for the worst.

Sinking to her knees next to her companion, she placed a shaking hand in front of his mouth. She nearly collapsed in relief as she felt the hot breath on her hand. Link was alive, and she would be damned if he didn't stay that way.

With her worst fears allayed, the small creature leaned back, taking in the extent of her friend's injuries. She could clearly see a large gash making its way across Link's left side. In addition, she noticed that his right front leg appeared to be broken. She couldn't really tell if there was any damage on the right side, since he was laying on it, but it was beginning to rain again, and she needed to get her friend to some sort of shelter. Hoisting the unconscious wolf up, her aches and pains quickly making themselves known, she began to drag him to a small outcropping of rocks. The overhang would protect them from the rain that was soon to come.

Once there, the Twilli attempted to splint the broken leg with some sticks tied together with vines. She really didn't know what else to do. Deciding that it would be best to wait and let Link tell her what else was wrong when he woke up, she pulled his head into her small lap and stroked it absently while listening to the rain pounding all around them.

It was cold. Very cold. This was the only coherent thought Link could come up with as he slowly pried his eyes open.

_Ok. And a headache. I have one of those too._

He was startled as the soft patch under his head started to move.

"Link?"

He relaxed as he recognized the voice of his companion. He tried to sit up, but only managed to shift a bit. However, even that slight movement drew an unintentional groan from his throat. Midna responded by shifting faintly so that he could see her out of his left eye.

Or at least he should have been able to.

When Link's eye did not move at all, Midna became worried.

"Link? Can you see me?" The imp asked softly, not wanting to startle the wolf again. When he indicated that he couldn't, Midna drew a deep breath.

"Link, I think they may have blinded your left eye." Midna regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth. He didn't need to be worrying about that now! But it was too late. Link shuddered violently and released a feeble growl.

"Well calm down, it may not be permanent. Just wait a bit." She was rewarded when Link relaxed once again. However, just a few moments later, he started shifting again. Realizing what her friend was trying to do, she assisted the wounded being in rolling so he was laying on his other side.

This time the electric blue eye that peeked out at her from under the mop of messy followed her every move with an almost desperate air. Her aching heart broke again to see this heroic man in so much pain. Every look begged her to help him. To stop the pain. Anything. But she could do nothing. She watched miserably as the pain-filled eyes, of her now only friend, closed slowly.

As she reached forward and encircled his head with her arms, she told herself it was just the cold making her eyes water. She couldn't care that much. Could she?


End file.
